This NICU is a special place, full of people who root for one another and cheer each other onward. People who hope and pray and love with all their might. People who notice details in every tiny moment. Magic is witnessed nearly every single day around here. Most of which goes unnoticed. Lucky for me, I noticed a beautiful moment between one of my colleagues and a NICU parent. ​ I took a few weeks to digest the goodness that transpired between them in this sacred space within our NICU walls. Such pure goodness must be shared, and therefore, I would like to nominate Laura Salazar RN for a DAISY Award. ​

She was working in a busy room with me, though I was on the opposite side of the room from her. She was hustling about and taking pristine care of the patients she was assigned to. I watched as a nurse wheeled in a parent, placing the wheelchair near her. The parent was warmly greeted and oriented to the room. The parent was crying. It didn’t take Laura long to notice that the tears were not emotional tears, but tears of physical pain. Laura knelt down in front of the wheelchair and looked the parent in the eyes and said, “Why are you crying?” The parent saw her genuine concern and informed her that an overwhelming physical pain was transpiring. This nurse honed in even further, stretching her wings of healing further around this parent when she asked, “What do you like to be called?” The parent told her, and it was a different name than the name on the chart. The nurse said, “I understand. You are safe here, you know that? I will call you by this name, and we will get your pain controlled”. She made a quick phone call to the unit and advocated for this patient to receive adequate pain control. She told the parent that someone was coming to give her medication, and the parent opened up further. Confiding in her that he was in the process of gender reassignment surgeries. She held his hand and said, “I am proud of you. This was brave of you”. She nurtured this parent’s heart and soul by validating his feelings, and by accepting this individual for the human being he is. ​

Laura told me later on, “You know? It’s easy. When you strip everything down to the very basics, it’s this- people want to be loved, fed, and feel safe. If we can do that for people, then we can truly care for them and make them feel good from the inside out.” This is her practice. She loves to love others, and she does so without abandon. This is a nurse I am proud to work with. Laura leads by absolute example and makes her loudest noise sound an awful lot like unconditional love. This is why nursing is both an art and a science. She makes absolute art out of loving others. I was speechless as I witnessed her magic in motion this day. Well done, my friend. ​

Note: This is Laura's 2nd DAISY Award!